Magic Eater
Summary A glowing lump of spiky pollen that "eats" some forms of space magic (mostly those affecting the physical world instead of abstract things like thoughts and vectors), converting them to light and heat in the process, which it uses to grow and spawn "children". A good tool for people who want to protect themselves from space magic and those who want a way to detect its presence without getting a Haber's Implant. Note that very powerful space magic might cause it to melt with a big flash of light. Also note that it makes no distinction between friendly and non-friendly space magic. Details A lump of spiky pollen that has a reddish glow to it. It was discovered in Hephaestus, in the anomalous areas left in the aftermath of the Gratesplosion.http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=106279.msg4897570#msg4897570 The spiky pollen appears to and inhibit certain forms of space magic. Or rather, it seems to redirect the "Energy" being used to cause reality changes and convert it into heat and light. http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=138720.msg6469127#msg6469127 The heat and light is directed outwards, meaning it can be a good indication of magical energies in the area. Do note that powerful magical influences may cause it to become so bright it ends up blinding people in the area and heat up so much it ends up melting. It has been tested mostly on manipulators. The tests showed it tends to inhibit things that deal with the material world, like microwave, magnetic, matter, gravity, etc. However, things that seem to deal with more abstract/complex things, like vectors or thoughts, seem to be unaffected. They have the great advantage of being self reproducing. They bud off new copies of themselves if you give them enough time or feed them enough reality distortion. Those smaller "offspring" don't need special care or time to grow. They become functional as soon as they bud. And don't worry about feeding them space magic. It seems, if their emissions are anything to go by, that there's an underlying field on background of reality distortion in the universe. Very limited though; about akin to the amount of energy required to raise a cup of water a few degrees with the microwave amps.http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=138720.msg6478873#msg6478873 Being near humans seems to slightly increase the distortion. Being near planetary matter seems to decrease the background distortion, while deep space away from everything seems to increase it. They seem to become tougher as more of them grow atop each other. Individually they're not very strong. In fact, you could destroy them with a normal claw hammer. But after growing into a cluster of about 100, they have enough resilience to survive blows with a sledge hammer. They, however, will not function if their outer shell is brokenhttp://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=138720.msg6492569#msg6492569 and they will return to their normal state if removed from the group. Also, while physically tougher, larger concentrations of Magic Eaters are not better against space magic. However older and larger Magic Eaters are better at defending from space magic, being able to absorb more energy.http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=138720.msg6510941#msg6510941 Overall, a good thing to have if you're expecting space magic attacks and are not a magic user yourself, but not so good against mindfuck. A very powerful attack might cause it to get destroyed, but it will at least give you a couple of seconds of warning before that happens, so you don't have to rely solely on your intuition. Do note that this does not destroy space magic, it merely converts it into another form. As such, it won't protect you from the Lurker's influence. Your amp may not cause the desired effect, but its use will still draw the Lurker towards you. Furthermore, the Lurker's energies seem mostly unaffected from it, so if you come face to face with Lurker magic, you should still run. http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=155799.msg6768932#msg6768932 References